In the lead up to Microsoft’s new console announcement the company had an opportunity to build on the foundation the Xbox 360 generation laid. When Microsoft finally took the stage to announce the console, all eyes were on them, Sony was to announce the PlayStation 4 in just a few days but this was about Xbox and it was their time to shine.
When Don Marrick took to the stage all eyes were on him and instead of introducing the new Microsoft gaming machine, we were introduced to the Xbox VHS box, or maybe that’s just what I thought it was called because there wasn’t much gaming info most of the conference, it was all about entertainment and all the things the new Xbox would do that wasn’t console gaming. Don’t get me wrong I love that my Xbox One has lots of cool apps to watch Showtime, Starz, HBO Go, Twitch and the list goes on but at the end of the day a gamer is buying a gaming console or PC to play games not to have the best Roku or Apple TV type device.
That was Microsoft’s Main pitch, all the things that the box could do except the one thing gamers all across the globe were watching the conference to hear about, gaming. Unfortunately for fans of Xbox this was just the start to a disastrous launch that would take years to be rectified and some would say the conference was the nail in the coffin for the generation and that Microsoft hasn’t truly recovered from the disastrous launch announcement this generation after PlayStation 4’s sales numbers dwarf Xbox One two to one.
When the Conference was finally over it was a buzz across the Internet. Microsoft had just finished announcing a console and people were freaking out and not for how well the announcement went, people on the web were pissed. The console was going to require an internet connection at all times, the Kinect was going to be packed into the console as a bundle and it needed to be connected to the console at all time, there was going to be no used games and the worst news of it all the console was going to launch with a price tag of 499USD.
When it was finally Sony’s turn to announce the PlayStation 4, they threw some haymakers Microsoft’s way, Sony came out firing talking only about games. Then they undercut the Xbox price point by a full 100USD and were going to have the stronger console spec wise. The knockout blow came in a now-infamous video, which has over 15 million views on Youtube. The video shows Sony Computer Entertainment President Shuhei Yoshida passing a physical game disc to former Vp of third party relations Adam Boyes, illustrating how to share physical game discs on the PlayStation 4. The video is only 20 seconds long but the damage was damning to everything Microsoft had pitched just a few days earlier. Xbox wasn’t going to allow you to trade in your games or let you share or borrow games with friends because of a DRM tech that would only allow the game to function in the first console the disc was inserted into. This video was all the buzz on the internet, it is not very often that you see a company as large as Sony taking such a direct and honestly low blow even if the video is hilarious and because of this video and the backlash Microsoft received on the web they had to answer for their DRM tech and anti-used game policies.
After the infamous video by Sony, Microsoft did walk back its policy about the always online requirement as well as changing the DRM software that allowed to trade, play and buy used physical games just like PS4 but many of the other complaints gamers had about the Xbox One remained unchanged for the time being. The Price was still $100 more than the PS4 and the Kinect was still required at all times( at a later date and update was released and Kinect would not need to be connected to console at all). I was never a fan of Kinect on Xbox 360 because there were no games that were actually good, it was just a gimmick to sell an expensive piece of tech and unfortunately the same can be said about the Xbox One version of Kinect. The second the requirement of a Kinect was dropped it became evident, no AAA type games would ever come to the Xbox one, and forgo reason, it's hard to expect great sales number when a consumer has to buy a accessory that cost over $100 and then you still have to pay another $60 to actually buy the game and enjoy it, it simply prices certain people out because of the price barrier.
The new day came when Don Marrick “left”, it’s not known the exact way he left, but he was gone and Phil Spencer came into the picture. He refocused the Xbox brand under a unified message and it was foundation built on gaming, what the Xbox one launch was missing. One of Phil Spencer’s greatest achievements was bringing Xbox 360 catalog to the Xbox one, over 225 Xbox 360 titles function on the console via backward compatibility. The list of games is not all gems but some of my favorite Xbox 360 games did make the ever-expanding list, last-gen classics likes, Portal 2, the whole Gears series, both X-Com games, the Left 4 Dead games, South Park Stick of Truth, Viva Piñata TIP, Braid, Carcassonne, Mass Effect and Red Dead Redemption to name my ten favorite on backwards compatibility all are featured in the list of backwards compatibility. This was all free as well, PS4 does have a program that allows you to play select PlayStation 3 games on the PS4 via streaming but this is a service you have to pay extra for.
The First piece in the complete rebranding of the Xbox One was getting Xbox 360 games functioning on the console, the next part was the new Xbox S that took away the fat VHS look of the original console and also got rid of the external power brick and made it internal, a move 2 generations in the making for Microsoft. The console also added some nice new features including uprising games to 4k and HDR compatibility for select upcoming games. Then after announcing the Xbox S at the 2016 E3 the new Xbox console Project Scorpio was announced as well, Microsoft promised this would be the most powerful console ever at over 6 terraflops, this is much more powerful than the rumored PS4 mid-cycle update code name Neo. This is important because the Xbox One had to overcome the price different but also the power difference stigma considering the PS4 was more powerful than the Original Xbox One and also $100 cheaper.
The final and I think biggest move is Project Scorpio, I know we don’t know much about it (except it will be the most powerful home console ever) but it's really the move that shows Microsoft is finally stepping out of Sony’s shadow and doing their own thing. Yes, Sony is killing Microsoft in hardware sales but Xbox is building a platform that Sony cannot match at this time. Microsoft also had many prominent developers touting how this will make game development easier for them because the power is so limitless vs. current home consoles on the market, the machine will also support VR something the current Xbox cannot handle.
Microsoft is building something we truly haven’t seen in console gaming to date, Backward compatibility going forward, all future 1st party games will also fall under the play anywhere plan, if you buy it on Xbox it works on PC for free and its also supports cross-save between both platforms. Having the most powerful console doesn’t really much in terms of how many great the games will be on the console but when every game 3rd party that comes out on PS4 and X1 they no longer have to see in review article where they do side by comparison and Xbox has the lower resolution and frame rate.
The bricks Microsoft is laying at this time are just the foundation of what will be a great future under the Xbox brand of Consoles. The brand's vision is much clearer and conscience then Sony’s current Vision, this was not something that could be say about the muddled launch message of the OG Xbox one. Today we see a Microsoft trying to build a platform brand similar to Apple and it's truly genius. Games are expensive, they cost $60 a pop and that’s just the base game, we now live in an age of DLC and season passes that add content to games but also add to the investment needed to experience everything a specific title has to offer. Saying that going forward its going to its going to much easier for Xbox fans to remain loyal when they know going forward their games and saves will move forward, this is something that cannot be said about PlayStation.
This is where the platform building is so key. When someone is looking to upgrade their phone people usually stay with the brand they have whether that’s android or iPhone, the investment to rebuy all that content is just too great to switch and their account is already made and just needs to be swapped to the new hardware.This is what I see Xbox trying to establish going forward, you might think the New Nintendo or Sony console looks awesome but if you switch brands you lose all your digital purchases and would have to rebuy any game you want to play again. The way Xbox is positioning its self is great for consumers of the brand and also breeds brand loyalty, something Xbox is looking for after many Xbox 360 users jumped ship to the Sony ecosystem.
The rocky Xbox One announcement presentation Microsoft had caused ripples that can still be felt to this day, if it wasn’t for people like Phil Spencer and the vision he had to turn around the Xbox One we could be seeing a company slipping to a place where they a little brother to the PlayStation brand instead of a strong competitor. I understand the PlayStation 4 has a sales lead of almost 2to1 but sometimes the numbers don't reflect the way the needle is pointing, for Xbox that needle is pointing up and the sky is the limit. If they can continue to push a strong message behind the new programs and continue to unify the PC/X1 gaming space they will continue to move out of Sony’s shadow and Sony will have to answer to some of the great ideas Microsoft is having instead of Microsoft just constantly playing defense. This is the for the 1st time in years its 1st down Microsoft and Sony is on defense, they need to come up with something to compete with Xbox’s brand revamp movement or begin the days of shadow watching.
